Wikipedia has defined a fashion capital as “a city which has a major influence on international fashion trends, and in which the design, production and retailing of fashion products, plus events such as fashion weeks, awards and trade fairs all generate significant economic output.” In layman’s terms, a fashion capital is a city which sees the major fashion events of the major fashion designers and the birth of the latest fashion trends. The fashion capitals see buyers flocking to commercialize this fashion and give access to the common people to the latest fashion.
Fashion capitals are part of a wider design scene, with design schools, fashion magazines and a local market of affluent consumers. Mark these 5 fashion capitals of the world in your travel itinerary.
Milan is the elite fashion capital of the world. Home to the largest fashion week it has all the major fashion designers in attendance. Gianni Versace, Georgio Armani, Valentino Garavani, Roberto Cavalli, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana have all contributed to putting Milan on the fashion map. Milan is known for its world-class craftsmanship and brilliant designs, the designers put up the Milan Fashion Week in Feb-March for the Spring-Summer collection and in Sept-Oct for the Fall-Winter collection.
Many of the top design schools are found in Milan with centers around the world. This includes Istituto Marangoni and Accademia Koefia and others.
Paris is the undisputed fashion capital of the world. It hosts the grandest fashion shows during the Paris Fashion Week and attracts the fashion royalty of the world. Most famous fashion designers are housed in Paris like Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin, Coco Chanel, Rene Lacoste, and Christian Louboutin who top the list.
The best fashion schools are here in Paris including the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale, Istituto Marangoni (also Milan and London campuses), ESMOD-Paris (23 schools located in 15 countries around the world), Paris College of Art and Studio Bercot to name a few.
New York is the cultural and fashion capital of the world. The city has seen the rise of many designers like Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Vera Wang, Betsey Johnson, Carolina Herrera, Jason Wu, Tory Burch, Anna Sui, Bill Blass, Isaac Mizrahi, Geoffrey Beene, and Narcisco Rodriguez to name a few. The New York Fashion Week is one of the largest in the world and is held in Feb and September each year.
New York also has many fashion schools like Parsons School of Design, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and Pratt Institute School of Design.
London has been home to many fashion revolutions like the Mod movement and others that gave birth to high-end fashion. The London Fashion Week held in Feb and Sept attracts some of the world’s largest fashion houses. It is home to some of the most brilliant fashion minds in the industry like Alexander McQueen, Mary Quant, John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Hussein Chalayan, and Christopher Kane and many others.
London has many prestigious fashion schools like the Central Saint Martins, London College of Fashion, Kingston University, Istituto Marangoni (also Milan and Paris campuses), University of Westminster, and Royal College of Art.
Tokyo is the rising star among the fashion fraternity. With its quirky fashion ecosystem, enthusiasts come from all over the world to experience the world famous retail scene, avant-garde and unique eccentric collections, while also getting a taste of the cultural, historic and religious sites in the city. The Tokyo fashion Week attracts all the major designers from the world over. Tokyo has seen the rise of famous designers like Hanae Mori, Issey Miyake, Kenzo Takada, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, Hiroko Koshino, and Tsumori Chisato.
The fashion colleges in Tokyo like the Tokyo Mode Gakuen College of Fashion & Design, Tama Art University, Bunka Fashion College, Tokyo Women’s Christian University are some commendable institutions.
These 5 fashion capitals rule the world of fashion and lay down the rule for the latest trends in fashion for one and all.
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